Vandals examine loss to the Wyoming Cowboys

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MOSCOW, ID - The backbone of any football team's offense is a strong offensive line, something that Idaho’s head coach thinks needs to keep improving.

The University of Idaho’s recent loss to Wyoming had many factors involved, one of which was not being able to convert on crucial downs when numbers favored them. Head Coach Paul Petrino said he had planned to wear down the Cowboys defense by running the ball as much as possible, but the six players who had at least one rushing attempt in the game were only able to gain 139 yards on 46 total attempts. A three yard average isn't terrible, but considering only having converted five third down conversions out of 20 in the game, then there's a problem, a problem that Coach Petrino recognizes.

"Not good enough,” said Petrino. “There were four third downs in that first quarter where we had numbers. One was a quarterback run and they only had a five-man box, that's eight against five and we don't convert. Another time was a run, five-man box, it was handed to the running back, but it was still six against five and we still didn't convert it so they gotta' keep improving. They gotta' keep improving and working harder."

The vandals will have their home opener against Northern Illinois University this Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. scheduled kickoff. And don't forget, it's Military Appreciation Day, so if you've got a little cash to spare, buy a ticket for one of our heroic veterans or military personnel.